Hispanic College Enrollment Jumps To 2.1 Million

By Cammy Harbison, Voxxi

According to a report released by the Pew Research Center, Hispanics are not only growing as a population, but are also making great leaps in the area of college enrollment.

The report, compiled by Richard Fry and Mark Hugo Lopez, reveals that, in 2011 Hispanic students between the ages of 18-24 enrolled in a college program increased by 16.5 percent, with more than two million Hispanic students enrolled in America’s colleges and universities.

The Hispanic population on college campuses is quickly outpacing other minority groups — they are now the largest one.

Hispanics now make up roughly one-quarter of all students in two-year colleges and more than 13 percent of students found in four-year programs.

Largest minority group making largest gains

Hispanics are the nation’s largest minority group, making up more than 50 million, or 16.5 percent, of the U.S. population. Among the 30 million young people aged 18 to 24, six million, or 20 percent, are Hispanic.

Though some of the gains in enrollment could be attributed to the growing number of Hispanics found in the U.S., population growth alone is not the only reason for the spike in college entrance rates.

During the last several years, Hispanic graduation rates have increased with 76.3 percent of all Hispanics graduating high school or receiving a GED in 2011, making more Hispanics eligible for entrance into colleges and universities.

The amount of Hispanics eligible for college is up 3 percent from 2010 graduation rates while non-Hispanic Blacks saw a 3 percent decrease and non-Hispanic Asian students a 7 percent decrease. The growth will likely continue as 48 of the 50 states begin implementing Common Core Standards, hoping to further the close the gap by offering equal standards in education regardless of location.

More growth still needed

The horizon for Hispanic students is certainly becoming brighter, though there is still plenty to be done to ensure this growing population reaches its full potential. Currently, the Latino share of degrees awarded still lags behind other groups.

In 2010, 1.7 million bachelor’s degrees were awarded in the United States. Seventy-one percent went to non-Hispanic white students, 10 percent to non-Hispanic blacks, and only 9 percent to Hispanic students.

Hispanics fared better among those receiving associates degrees with roughly 13 percent of Hispanics receiving them, equal with non-Hispanic black students who also received 13 percent of the degrees but still lagging behind, non-Hispanic whites with 65 percent of associate degrees awarded.

The future awaits

With the continued growth of the Hispanic population along with government and educator focus on building students skills to become the workforce of the future, we can expect that in the near future, Hispanic students will receive a fair share of the college degrees awarded.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Cammy Harbison is a freelance writer/blogger working with International Digital Times and Voxxi News, covering topics in technology, innovation, social media, education and other related interests. She is a graduate of East Carolina University.